"Amusing Ourselves to Death"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how Neil Postman, in his book "Amusing Ourselves to Death" uses examples from the 1980s to illustrate how we are dependent on highly glamorized and frequently over entertaining renditions of the occurrences in our lives and culture. The paper explains his argument that because information has become so plentiful, the individual has much less ability to realistically act to change it and so the message is only of value if it is entertaining. The paper analyzes how important the subject matter is to the study of culture and society and why. The paper also determines the contribution this book makes to sociology and which audience will enjoy or benefit from this book. Finally, the paper questions whether the subject matter would benefit from a more modern rendition of the work.

From the Paper:

"War, murder, terrorism, random and premeditated violence, religion and in the more modern, as one small example of the evolution, even dangerous high speed police chases have become the stuff of entertainment. Our culture has effectively desensitized ourselves to the element of humanity in all these issues and more frequently see them as a way to sell the modern human condition to itself. Seeking a way to engage viewers the media as well as the entertainers themselves have marketed the world condition, with all its poignant dramatic moments and made it more closely resemble fiction."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Penguin, 1986.

More papers on "Amusing Ourselves to Death":

• Book Review # 104909 : "Amusing Ourselves to Death"
• Book Review # 84377 : "'Amusing Ourselves to Death'"
• Book Review # 29920 : "Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death"

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